In the wake of weeks of protests, violence, looting, and deaths, Senator Ted Cruz is piggy backing off of President Trump’s recent decision to move federal agents into cities with particular unrest by introducing a bill that will allow Americans to sue law enforcement officers who fail to protect them and bring order to the area. Lawmakers are on guard against the recklessness that is happening across the United States in response to the death of George Floyd, as many peaceful protests have turned into riots.
Writing an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Cruz highlighted the Antifa rallying cries: “Every city, every town, burn the percent to the ground.” And, “The only good cop is a dead one.” Cruz pointed out that there are autonomous protest zones in Portland, Oregon; Asheville, NC; New York, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Seattle, Washington, and DC. While these zones are with the purpose to protest police brutality, the reality is much different.
Cruz pointed out that in the autonomous zone “CHAZ,” police officers were told they could only respond to mass casualties. The result was that families, business owners, and Seattle residents had to take care of themselves. Furthermore, the price for the damage caused falls on the business owner, as insurance does not cover it in many cases. In New York, a man was robbed at gun point, and watched the man who robbed him run away despite a police officer present, because he has been ordered to not make any arrests. These types of crimes are happening across the United States, and Cruz is taking a stand against it.
Cruz’s bill, the Restitution for Economic losses Caused by Leaders who Allow Insurrection and Mayhem Act-Reclaim. The bill allows for Americans to sue local and state officials when they “abdicate their legal duty to protect the public in cases where death, serious bodily farm, or significant property damage have occurred.” The bill allows for “rebel damages” which means business owners can sue for triple amount of the damage done to their property. It also allows residents in “autonomous zones” to sue senior local or state lawmakers who allowed these zones to be set up and continue. The bill also removes limits to funds for law-enforcement and crime-prevention programs for local governments
Americans are watching their cities fall apart, as local and state law officials sit back as businesses, neighborhood, and people’s lives are destroyed. Many politicians have pointed out that these protestors are anarchists, and that they are deliberately trying to rip apart cities.
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[…] Cruz Takes Action Against Autonomous Zones […]